Document Type

Presentation -- MUSC Only

Publication Date

Spring 4-25-2025

Faculty Mentor

Elizabeth Crawford

Abstract

Fieldwork education plays a pivotal role in shaping student outcomes in occupational therapy programs. The effectiveness of fieldwork education is significantly influenced by the fieldwork educator's communication style, teaching approach, learning preferences, competency, self-efficacy, and level of preparedness. The Intentional Fieldwork Education Model (IFWEM) and its associated IFWEM course provide an evidence-based framework designed to enhance fieldwork educators’ competency, self-efficacy, and preparedness prior to student fieldwork. In collaboration with the creators of the IFWEM, efforts were made throughout this capstone project to increase the usability, availability, and accessibility of the current IFWEM course. This project aimed to create a more suitable learning environment that increases the ease of navigation, adding more accessible information to each module, and catering to diverse learner backgrounds and preferences. By improving access, usability, and availability of the IFWEM course, the ultimate goal is to increase participation among fieldwork educators, thereby fostering enhanced student outcomes during fieldwork experiences. As part of this update to the IFWEM course effort, a website was developed to further disseminate the IFWEM diagram, the IFWEM course, and the IFWEM article. Through the creation of the website, the IFWEM creators will also have a platform to continue to disseminate research and provide further access to fieldwork educator resources as well as student resource. Feedback from fieldwork educators and academic fieldwork coordinators has been overwhelmingly positive with regard to the website's layout, design, and organization. Both third-year capstone students and fieldwork educators have expressed that the website is informative, well-balanced, and user-friendly, providing valuable feedback to guide the future of the IFWEM.

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